One of the most common questions I get asked is how I make my narwhals have spiral horns. This tutorial is floating around on a few of my other pages, but I decided to make an instructables version. These horns can be used for unicorn and narwhal costumes and stuffed animals. Or just to have a cool stuffed horn. I've even seen someone make a dragon with spiral horns.

Before you get started you should gather your materials. you're going to need a marker, paper, stuffing, scissors, a needle, thread, and material. What kind of material you use doesn't matter, though different kinds will yield different results. Thicker fabrics like polar fleece will result in chunkier horns, while thinner fabrics like t-shirt material will make more pointed horns. Material that is furry, like cuddle fleece, will hide the thread better, but have a more "messy" look to it. Whatever you choose, it helps if your materials has some stretch to it.

As for your thread, you can use any color you want. I prefer my thread to blend in, but some people use thick, bright thread to make it stand out and add an accent color.

Step 1:

You'll want to cut a triangular shape with a slightly rounded bottom out of paper. The actual size and shape depends on how you want your horn to look. Long triangles will make long horns, fat triangles will make fat horns, and so on. Just remember that the longer and thinner a horn is, the harder it will be to turn it inside out. Also, be sure that your triangle is even on both sides.

This is mine. As you can see it's been the victim of a cat attack, but it still works jut fine.

Step 2:

Now trace around your horn pattern onto the back side of your fabric. If your fabric is partially see-through, you may want to use something other than a black marker so that it doesn't show through.

Step 3:

Now cut your horn out! Make sure to leave some seam allowance around it, I usually try to leave about 1/4 of an inch.

Step 4:

Fold your horn in half!

Then sew up the side of it. Make sure you have plenty of leftover string. When you are done, make a knot to finish it off, but don't cut the extra string off.

Step 5:

Cut any extra material off the seam. Be sure to cut as close as you can to the point without cutting your thread. This will help get an actual point on the end of your horn instead of a rounded mess.

Step 6:

This can be kind of tricky. First, you want to turn your horn inside out so that the correct side is visible. Your string should be dangling down the center of your horn.

Then you want to stick the needle back into the horn and poke it through the top so that now the string will be popping out the top of the horn. This can take a couple tries and lots of practice to get it right because unless you have a giant horn, it's hard to see where the needle is going. It will try to get stuck or poke out the side on accident.

If you are really struggling, you can just say forget it and cut the string. However, it will mean you will need to start your spiral at the bottom and tie your horn on the top and try to hide the knot, which usually doesn't look as good.

Step 7:

This is where all the magic happens. Stuff the horn! You want to make sure it's about as stuffed as you can get it.

Then you take the thread sticking out of the top of the horn and spiral it around, pulling it tightly as you go. Basically, you want to pull it as tightly as you can without breaking the thread. I usually use two hands for this, but I had to take pictures this time around.

As you go, this will create a nice, pillowy spiral. It sometimes takes a few tries to get it nice and even. If your spirals look lopsided at first, just let go of the thread and let it unravel and start over. No harm done.

When you have it how you want it, carefully poke the needle into the material at the bottom and tie it off. Make sure you don't let go of the thread or let it go slack.

Step 8:

This step is optional, depending on what you want to do with your horn and what your preferences are, but I prefer to tie up the bottom of my horn so none of the stuffing falls out, then sew it to the outside of my plushies.

Take your needle and sew in and out around the bottom of the horn. Then pull it tight like a drawstring to shut it. If there's any extra stuffing poking out, just use a super awesome chopstick or pencil to stuff it back in. Then tie it up and you're done! Ta-da!